Cordatus Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO)

Cordatus Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 4.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Southern were worth $589,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Investors Research Corp lifted its position in shares of Southern by 400.0% during the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Elequin Capital LP grew its position in shares of Southern by 60.6% in the 4th quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 498 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 64.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp lowered shares of Southern from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $78.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southern from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,897,795. This represents a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southern Stock Performance

SO opened at $95.03 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $91.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $104.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $96.44.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 16.54%. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.64%.

Southern Company Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.